The Generations Band is an all-star sextet that was brought together to serve as ambassadors and teachers for the International Center for the Arts at San Francisco State University’s Generations Jazz mentorship program. Jimmy Cobb, Eric Alexander, Andrew Speight, Terrell Stafford, David Hazeltine and Ray Drummond quickly coalesced into a fluid yet hard-hitting post-bop ensemble, and produced their first CD, Tough Guys in 2008 on the ICA label.
The Generations Band spends a few weeks each year working intensively with the Jazz students at SF State, hosting master classes, workshops and concerts, all of which are open to the public. Through the Generations Jazz Project, the band takes a professionally emerging combo under their wing; the project is “an attempt to create the same sort of laboratory learning atmosphere that Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Art Blakey created within their groups,” says Artistic Director Andrew Speight. “Within those bands, and others like them, the best young musicians were nurtured by the masters of the established generation.” The Generations Jazz Project Scholarship and Fellowship for Emerging Jazz Combos offers a young professional band just such an opportunity: to be mentored by seasoned musicians, learning through “trial by fire” while playing alongside veteran players. Each year, the ICA holds an international competition to find the most deserving young jazz combo, poised to begin a full-fledged career in jazz. The winning combo comes to San Francisco State for a one-year fellowship, including an intensive mentorship by the members of the Generations Ensemble.
Read a full biography of the Generations Band at allaboutjazz.com
